Ocean And Coast

Image: Beach in Santa Monica, CA by Johnny Chau / Unsplash

Nearly 75 percent of California’s population lives in coastal counties and along the State’s iconic 1,100 miles of mainland coastline and the San Francisco Bay’s additional 500-mile shoreline. The ocean and coast contributed $41.9 billion to the state’s GDP, provided $19.8 billion in wages and salaries, and supplied 515,465 jobs in 2014. These figures demonstrate how much the people and economy of California rely on the coastline and the ocean. The short- and long-term risks from climate change, such as sea level rise, coastal erosion and beach loss, and ocean acidification will continue to affect a vast number of people and industries. California is one of the world leaders in both addressing climate change and protecting our coastal and ocean habitats and resources. Because of the ever-growing value of California’s coastal areas and our dependence on the coast and ocean for recreation, food, and critical infrastructure such as ports, airports, and power plants, it is important to assess how climate change will impact our ocean and coasts and how to best anticipate, plan, and prepare for these changing ocean conditions.

Sea-Level Rise

Sea-level rise is an immediate and real threat to lives, livelihoods, transportation, economies, and the environment in California. The vast majority of California’s population lives in coastal counties and will directly experience the effects of sea-level rise on their homes, roads, public services, and infrastructure. More frequent and chronic flooding and erosion are inevitable and inland populations are not immune from sea-level rise. Many of the facilities and much of the infrastructure that support California’s ocean economy, as well as the State’s many miles of public beaches, lie within a few feet of the present high tide line and therefore are at risk from future sea-level rise and coastal storm events as a result of a changing climate.

Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidity has increased by 30 percent and is expected to double over pre-industrial levels by the end of this century, as the ocean absorbs one-third of the carbon dioxide generated by human activities. Extensive field studies conducted worldwide already show significant impacts on fisheries and marine ecosystems from ocean acidification, which will worsen in the future. Continued scientific research is critical to advance understanding of the causes, extent and impacts of ocean acidification. Of equal importance is the development and implementation of actions to help reduce the causes of ocean acidification and protect coastal communities and the marine ecosystems from the impacts of an acidifying ocean.

Warming Ocean Temperatures

In addition to contributing to sea level rise, increasing ocean temperatures also has implications for ocean processes and marine ecosystems, including coastal upwelling, ocean productivity, and species distributions and abundances. This can affect the health of fisheries, the occurrence of harmful algal blooms and disease in marine organisms, and the spread of marine invasive species, and thus impact the ocean resources upon which California’s population depend. Therefore, understanding changing ocean temperatures and their effects, along with the effects of other changing ocean conditions, is needed in order for California to plan, prepare, and manage for these potential impacts.

Integration with Assembly Bill 2516 (AB2516)

Passed in 2014, AB2516 (Gordon) called for the California Natural Resources Agency, in collaboration with the Ocean Protection Council (OPC), to conduct biannual surveys of sea-level rise planning information to catalog California’s efforts to prepare for rising seas. To improve accessibility and usefulness of these resources to support sea-level rise adaptation and resilience, OPC has partnered with OPR to host the AB2516 resources in the Adaptation Clearinghouse. Resources collected as part of this survey include studies, vulnerability assessments, and local coastal programs, among others. Resources gathered through future surveys, as required by AB182 (Berman), will also be included in the Clearinghouse.

Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. 2018

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Case Study

The multi-modal transportation network resiliency assessment conducted for this project will include a vulnerability assessment to identify areas where transportation assets are most vulnerable to potential impacts of climate change. SBCAG … intends to work collaboratively to complete a regional climate adaptation strategy for implementation and to identify a regional Climate Smart Transportation Network that utilizes nature-based solutions in locations most vulnerable to climate change impacts. The recommendations from the study will be incorporated into the next update of SBCAG's Regional Transportation Plan-Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP-SCS).

California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 2017

This website contains links to major studies on vulnerability of fish and wildlife in California to climate change. A vulnerability assessment can be used to determine which fish, wildlife, and plant species may be most vulnerable to … climate change, and why. Many of these assessments have been conducted in California by various entities, and these studies provide crucial information for conservation and adaptation planning.

California Landscape Conservation Cooperative. 2017

The California Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CA LCC) is a management-science partnership created to inform and promote integrated science, natural resource management and conservation to address impacts of climate change and other stressors … within and across ecosystems. CA LCC hosts webinars, workshops and trainings, a project library, stories, and is the creator of the Climate Commons data and resource catalog.

Local Government Commission. 2018

CivicSpark is a Governor’s Initiative AmeriCorps program administered by the Local Government Commission in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research that is dedicated to building capacity for local governments to address … climate change and water management issues in California. In collaboration with local government staff, CivicSpark Fellows implement a needed climate or water-focused project, while also building long-term capacity to ensure the work is sustained after their service year is completed.

California Senate Office of Research. 2018

This report reviews scientific evidence of the potential impacts of climate change on public health in California. Whereas several reports have explored this issue at an international or national scale, this report was developed to serve … as a thorough reference pertaining to California specifically, complete with citations for further studies. The report describes the state of climate change in California and possible effects on human health. It includes a detailed summary of research showing how California’s population already is affected by extreme heat and other suboptimal environmental conditions that could worsen with climate change. Most of the studies cited here look at historic climate-related health outcomes without attributing impacts to climate change that has already occurred. Some studies use the historic data as a basis for making future projections linked to climate change.

California Department of Transportation. 2013

This guide helps MPOs and RTPAs in California to better incorporate climate assessments and adaptation into the long-range planning process by outlining how to conduct a preliminary assessment of the main climate impacts in their regions … as well as discussing how to delve into more rigorous analysis by incorporating local data and information and identifying resources for in-depth analysis.

San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development
Commission (BCDC). 2012

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Communication or educational material

The purpose of this white paper is to highlight the links between equity and planning for sea level rise and storm events and was designed to inform the Adapting to Rising Tides project (ART) led by the San Francisco Bay Conservation … and Development Commission. The paper discusses social vulnerabilities to hazards and tools for understanding equity in climate change adaptation planning.

NHA Advisors. 2017

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Planning and policy guidance

The Resilient by Design, Bay Area Challenge is a year-long collaborative design challenge bringing together teams to develop 10 innovative community-based solutions around resilience to sea level rise, severe storms, flooding and earthquakes. … Through this effort, a Finance Advisory Team prepared a Finance Guide. The guide provides a funding and financing reference for resilient infrastructure along the San Francisco Bay shoreline. The Guide provides a strategic perspective and descriptive overview of funding and financing options to help orient design ideas towards more feasible, fundable projects. While this resource is specific to the Bay Area, the report includes a broad California-context on financing challenges and strategies, as well as resources available statewide.

Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation. 2018

The Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation (ARCCA) is a network of regional collaboratives from across California that work together to advance adaptation statewide and increase local capacity to build community resilience. … Through ARCCA, adaptation practitioners connect with peers across the state to exchange knowledge, and engage in targeted problem-solving across sectors and jurisdictions. The collaborative includes learning sessions, a California Resiliency Directory and Listserv, legislative tracking, and a Regional Adaptation Collaborative Toolkit.

County of San Diego. 2017

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AssessmentPlan or strategy

The County of San Diego Climate Action Plan includes a vulnerability assessment and adaptation and resiliency strategies. This Climate Action Plan uses the California Adaptation Planning Guide as the basis for its adaptation chapter and … uses Cal-Adapt to inform its vulnerability assessment.